🎉Prevention Updates for the New Year! 🎉

January 2024

Happy New Year!

As we start 2024, we would like to pause and reflect on the progress our organization has made in the area of prevention programming, training, and resources.

Our agency is constantly adapting to meet the needs of those we serve. Prevention First established the Mental Health Resource Center (MHRC) in August 2023 in response to the growing demand for mental health resources.

Our team members have presented at state and national conferences, sharing the latest prevention strategies. As an agency, we continue to provide in-person and online training, resources, technical support, and public awareness campaigns.

As we look to the new year with anticipation, we focus on three areas of impact:

Advise – We provide ongoing technical support and training, both in-person and online, to organizations that actively promote healthy behaviors so they can be effective in their missions.

Amplify – We work with individuals who deliver prevention services, so they are equipped and confident to best support clients, schools, and communities.

Advocate – We take an active role in addressing prevention areas of need through public awareness campaigns, resource centers, special initiatives, conferences, and networking events.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our organization as we work to proactively and effectively support the health and well-being of our communities.

Changing Patterns of Alcohol Use by Girls and Young Adult Women Webinar

The APRC is pleased to welcome back Dr. Aaron White from NIAAA. He will be presenting an update on the changing patterns of alcohol use by girls and young adult women. The webinar will be on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (CST) Register here .

While the declines in drinking are good news, a closer look at the data shows that the declines have been much larger for males than females. As a result, for some age ranges, girls and young adult women are now more likely to drink and binge drink than males for the first time since data collection began more than a century ago. And while alcohol use is declining for adolescents and young adults in their 20s, it is increasing for adults over the age of 30, particularly for women. For every age group, differences in alcohol consumption between males and females continue to narrow.

The Alcohol Policy Resource Center can also assist with how to analyze your data, scan your community, and match policy/strategy to assessment findings. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Jody Heavilin.

Online training spotlight: Introduction to Illinois Youth Survey Data

It is now 2024, and that means schools can begin taking the Illinois Youth Survey. Did you know that school reports are sent to school principals within 4-6 weeks after completion of the IYS? Although school reports are confidential, prevention providers or coalitions working with schools or districts are strongly encouraged to ask school/district administrators directly to share their reports.

Get prepared and become familiar with the contents and organization of the Illinois Youth Survey school reports by taking the online self-paced Introduction to Illinois Youth Survey Data course. This course will help you evaluate the strengths and limitations of the IYS data and understand the process of analyzing the IYS data.

Illinois Youth Survey registration will remain open, so if your school has not yet registered, there is still time!

Communities Talk: Launching New Cycle in 2024!

SAMHSA supports community-based organizations, including colleges and universities, local coalitions, state-based organizations, and local chapters of national organizations, to hold prevention events and activities that:

Educate communities about the harmful consequences of underage drinking and other substance use among people ages 12-25; and
Help communities mobilize to put evidence-based prevention strategies in place.

Learn more about this opportunity from the Director of CSAP at SAMHSA and previous event hosts in this webinar recorded on December 12^th.

UPCOMING WEBINAR!

"Let's Talk Data with the YPRC and CPRD"

Monday, January 22, 2024

1:00 PM CDT

Mark your calendars! In this webinar, the Youth Prevention Resource Center (YPRC) team will discuss how to source data and use it as a blueprint when planning prevention initiatives. The Center for Prevention Research and Development (CPRD) will be on hand to discuss the Illinois Youth Survey (IYS), how to get your schools involved, and why the data gathered during the survey is so important. Attendees will receive information on:

Why data is essential.
What “good” data looks like.
Trusted sources of data.
An overview of the IL Youth Survey
How to use IYS data
Answers to some commonly asked questions regarding the IYS

Click here to register today for the "Let's Talk Data with the YPRC and CPRD" webinar!

NEW RESOURCE: Winter Break Survival Guide

The YPRC wants to wish everyone a safe and happy Holiday Season! We know this should be a time for rest and relaxation, but even if you’re looking forward to the time off, it can present its own challenges. When teenagers are struggling with emotional problems, they often turn to alcohol or drug use to help them manage painful or difficult feelings.

We have created a new resource to help anyone struggling during this winter break so that they don't turn to substances to cope. It is full of tips and tricks to overcome some of the most common challenges someone may face and resources to find help and support.

On February 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., the CPRC will host Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher from the Stanford REACH Lab.

Vaping has become a significant public health concern, and youth using on campus challenges schools and communities to create effective policies and response strategies. When intervention is warranted, the use of alternatives to suspension programs has been shown to have a greater effect than removing students from school. This webinar will describe the frameworks of alternatives to suspension programs, demonstrate their effectiveness, and display Stanford REACH Lab's cannabis-focused vaping alternatives to suspension program, Healthy Futures.

Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher is the Marron and Mary Elizabeth Kendrick Professor in Pediatrics II in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is a developmental psychologist with additional training in adolescent and young adult health. She is the founder and executive director of her REACH Lab, the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, the Cannabis Awareness and Prevention Toolkit, the Vaping Information, Solutions, and Interventions Toolkit, and Safety First: Comprehensive Drug Prevention Program. She is also the President-Elect of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Register here!

Prevention First Leadership Center is hosting a free, three-part series facilitated by Patti Heffernan, co-owner of Helios Addiction Recovery Services, LLC. Heffernan is a person with lived experience in the foster system and juvenile justice system. This experience brings a unique perspective to finding sustainable systemic solutions. Through powerful storytelling coupled with state and federal data on the current systems in place, Heffernan illuminates how these systems are counter-productive to the goal we all want to achieve.

Participants will learn how the language commonly used in treatment and recovery has negatively shaped public perception and alternative terminology that the field could employ. This series offers strategies within programs and the community to encourage a more person-centered mindset about addiction and recovery.

Attending all three sessions isn’t required, but they complement each other well!

January 31st, 2023 10:00 – 11:00

Recovery-empowered language on an individual basis

February 14th, 2023 10:00-11:00

Recovery-empowered language within organizations and professional workplaces

February 28th, 2023 10:00-11:00

Recovery-empowered language in the public and media

The new year is a time when many people set resolutions with high expectations for themselves. While new resolutions can lead to positive change, they can also lead to feelings of failure and may negatively affect one’s mental health. According to U.S. News and World Report, 80% of resolutions fail within about six weeks. There are many reasons why resolutions fail, but one reason may be due to the size and scope of the goal. New Year’s resolutions are often big, general goals without the structure in place to celebrate small wins.

Rather than focusing on one major resolution like “lose weight this year,” consider setting multiple small, attainable goals to reach a larger resolution. Peggy Swarbrik’s 8 Dimensions of Wellness model can be used as a tool for setting small goals in various areas of your life to achieve the larger goal. For example, attend a nutritional class to fulfill the Intellectual Dimension of Wellness. Schedule a check-up with your primary care doctor to address your Physical Dimension of Wellness. Create a walking club to engage the Social Dimension of Wellness. All of these goals are small, obtainable, and can be completed in a set time frame. Try addressing one Dimension of Wellness each month and celebrating each small win. Reassess in August to reflect on how this method has not only impacted your weight but also your overall wellness.

If you are interested in more information about the Prevention First Mental Health Resource Center, please contact Yoli Holmes, Administrator of the MHRC.

Save the Date for SAMHSA’s 20th Prevention Day!

Mark your calendars for Monday, January 29, 2024: SAMHSA’s Prevention Day will once again take place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Prevention Day is the largest gathering dedicated to advancing the prevention of substance use and misuse. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of SAMHSA’s Prevention Day, the conference will explore current programs, policies, innovations, and emerging issues; reflect on past accomplishments; and chart a course for the future of prevention.

Self-paced courses and archived webinars

Don't miss out on Prevention First's collection of online courses and archived webinars for professional development at your own convenience.

For Alcohol Policy Resource Center Webinars, visit here for archived webinars.

For Substance Use Prevention Courses & Webinars, visit SUPP Training Events- Online or Archived Webinar on the sidebar.

For Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Webinars, visit their webpage.

For Cannabis Policy Resource Center webinars, visit here for archived webinars.

For SUPR Treatment & Recovery Webinars, visit SUPR Training Events- Archived Webinar on the sidebar.

For Youth Prevention Resource Center webinars, visit here for archived webinars.

For Reimagine Youth Development Training and Technical Assistance resources, visit their webpage here.

Looking for other resources to share with your community?

Visit our Virtual Clearinghouse of Resources or contact us, and we will help.